Sherri Papini was branded and her hair was cut off to "wear her down," Shasta County sheriff says

Sherri Papini Abduction | Sheriff Confirms Husband"s Chilling Details

The abductors of Redding mother Sherri Papini may have branded her and cut off her hair while holding her captive to send a message and humiliate her, Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told Good Morning America on Wednesday.

I would think that was some sort of either an exertion of power and control and/or maybe some type of message that the brand contained, Bosenko said. It is not a symbol, but it was a message.

Bosenko declined to elaborate on the brands appearance. Papinis blond hair was cut, Bosenko said, because her captor or captors were very sick and may have wanted to not only cut it off not to change her physical appearance but also as to humiliate to wear her down.

Papini was found on the side of a road beaten, chained, with a bag over her head and weighing only 87 pounds Thanksgiving morning, her husband said in a statement released Tuesday.

"Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see upon my arrival at the hospital, nor the details of the true h**l I was about to hear," Keith Papini wrote. "My first sight was my wife in a hospital bed, her face covered in bruises ranging from yellow to black because of repeated beatings, the bridge of her nose broken."

In the statement to Good Morning America, the husband also rejected Internet speculation that Sherri was not actually kidnapped.

"We are not going to allow those people to take away our spirit, love, or rejoice in our girl found alive and home where she belongs," he wrote. "I understand people want the story, pictures, proof that this was not some sort of hoax, plan to gain money, or some fabricated race war. I do not see a purpose in addressing each preposterous lie."

Authorities investigating the case have also said they have no reason to disbelieve her story.

Detectives were delving into the victims past as they tried to piece together details of the bizarre episode.

The 34-year-old woman was found bound by restraints along Interstate 5 in Yolo County. Officials were called about 4:30 a.m. after Papini flagged down a motorist. The mother of two was treated for injuries and reunited with her husband.

Officials said they were not aware of a motive for the apparent kidnapping. Bosenko also said it was not clear whether Papini knew her abductors.

Before Papini was found, police had filed about 20 search warrants in court related to the investigation. Many were filed under seal, the Sacramento Bee reported. ABC reported that detectives were also looking through Papinis computer records, investigating past relationships and seeking video surveillance camera footage that might offer clues.

Papini disappeared Nov. 2 while she was out for a jog in the small town of Mountain Gate in Shasta County.

Her husband reported her missing after he came home from work and found that she hadnt picked up their children from daycare. Her cellphone and headphones were found near where she had last been seen, about a mile from her home, investigators said.

Her disappearance made national news, and the community launched an aggressive manhunt to find her. Her story was shared on social media and volunteer searches were launched.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow@JosephSernaon Twitter.

Staff writer Esmeralda Bermudezcontributed to this report.

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Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-papini-abduction-shasta-20161130-story.html

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Leaner and meaner: US shale greater threat to OPEC after oil price war

Oil prices surge worldwide as OPEC hashes out a deal to cut production | Manorama News

In a corner of the prolific Bakken shale play in North Dakota, oil companies can now pump crude at a price almost as low as that enjoyed by OPEC giants Iran and Iraq.

Until a few years ago it was unprofitable to produce oil from shale in the United States. The steep slide in costs could encourage more U.S. shale output if OPEC members cut supplies, undermining the producer group"s ability to boost prices. OPEC ministers meet Wednesday to weigh output cuts to end a two-year glut that has pressured global oil prices.

In shale fields from Texas to North Dakota, production costs have roughly halved since 2014, when Saudi Arabia signaled an output free-for-all in an attempt to drive higher-cost shale producers out of the market.

Rather than killing the U.S. shale industry, the ensuing two-year price war made shale a stronger rival, even in the current low-price environment.

In Dunn County, North Dakota, there are around 2,000 square miles where the cost to produce Bakken shale is $15 a barrel and falling, according to Lynn Helms, head of the state"s Department of Mineral Resources.

"The success in Dunn County has been fantastic," said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council.

Dunn County"s cost is about the same as Iran"s, and a little higher than Iraq"s. Dunn County produces about 200,000 barrels of oil a day, about a fifth of daily production in the state.

It is North Dakota"s sweet spot because it boasts the lowest costs in the state, yet improved technology and drilling techniques have boosted efficiency for the whole state and the entire U.S. oil industry.

The breakeven cost per barrel, on average, to produce Bakken shale at the wellhead has fallen to $29.44 in 2016 from $59.03 in 2014, according to consultancy Rystad Energy. It added that in terms of wellhead prices, Bakken is the most competitive of major U.S. shale plays.

Wood Mackenzie said technology advances should further reduce breakeven points.

Landlocked Bakken producers still need a substantially higher international price than their breakeven cost to make a profit, since they pay more to transport crude to market than producers in most other U.S. regions.

International oil prices of $45 a barrel are enough for some Bakken producers to profit, Ness said, and $55 would encourage production growth.

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/30/leaner-and-meaner-us-shale-greater-threat-to-opec-after-oil-price-war.html

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Oil soars on OPEC hopes, dollar renews its surge

Saudi Arabia faces resistance to oil cuts, inside and outside OPEC
By Richard Leong | NEW YORK

NEW YORK Oil jumped on Wednesday as OPEC members clinched a deal to cut production, while upbeat U.S. economic data and comments from the U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee triggered a selloff in the bond market.

Higher crude prices bolstered shares of energy producers and stock prices around the world, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting record highs.

An improving view on global growth, led by the United States on hopes of tax cuts and federal spending under a Trump administration, rekindled the dollar"s push toward a near 14-year peak.

"Everything seem to be coming together for more growth and risk appetite," said Larry Milstein, head of agency and government trading at R.W. Pressprich & Co. in New York.

Stronger investor confidence reduced safe-haven demand for gold, which was on track for its steepest monthly loss since mid-2013.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed its first output limiting deal in eight years in an effort to deal with global supply overhang, an OPEC source told Reuters as the debates continued in Vienna on the exact size of each member"s cuts.

Brent crude LCOc1 was last up $3.58, or 7.72 percent, at $49.96 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1 was last up $3.28, or 7.25 percent, at $48.51 per barrel.

The rally in energy shares helped lift the Dow and S&P 500 to record intraday highs. The blue-chip U.S. stock indexes were also boosted by bank stocks on bets of loosening of regulation under Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 66.43 points, or 0.35 percent, to 19,188.03, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 2.69 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,207.35 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 23.18 points, or 0.43 percent, to 5,356.73.

European stocks also advanced on a jump in oil companies .SXEP. But regional banks struggled after news Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) failed a Bank of England stress test and Italian lenders fell before a referendum on the country"s political system on Sunday. [.EU]

The jump in oil prices, together with stronger-than-expected data on U.S. private job growth and regional manufacturing on Wednesday, ignited a wave of selling in bonds, pushing benchmark U.S. yields toward their highest levels since July 2015.

An aversion to own long-dated U.S. government bonds grew following comments from U.S. Treasury nominee Stevem Mnuchin who told CNBC television: "We"ll look at potentially extending maturity of the debt because eventually we"re going to have higher interest rates."

U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield US10YT=RR rose 10 basis points to 2.40 percent, a tad below last week"s 2.42 percent that was the highest since July 2015.

German 10-year Bund yield was 4 basis points higher at 0.26 percent, while Japanese 10-year yield edged up 1 basis point at 0.03 percent. DE10YT=RR JP10YT=RR

Rising U.S. yields and upbeat domestic data pushed the dollar index .DXY up 0.72 percent at 101.66, which was still short of the near 14-year high of 102.05 set last week.

Meanwhile, gold XAU= was on track for its biggest monthly decline since mid-2013, largely pressured by the bets of a series of U.S. interest rate hikes over the next year as U.S. growth seemed to accelerating.

Spot gold prices XAU= fell $16.81 or 1.41 percent, to $1,171.53 an ounce.

(Additional reporting by Marc Jones, Jemima Kelly in London; Editing by Susan Thomas and Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN13N00Y

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Steven Mnuchin, Trump"s campaign finance director, confirms he"s been chosen to head Treasury

OneWest"s Mnuchin Sees `No Rush" to Take Bank Public

Updated 4:11am, Wednesday, November 30, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) Steven Mnuchin, Trump"s campaign finance director, confirms he"s been chosen to head Treasury.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to "Sign In" and "Manage Profile" at the top of the page.

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Steven-Mnuchin-Trump-s-campaign-finance-10644178.php

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Kate Mara"s ex-boyfriend dented the Giants" Super Bowl trophy

Kate Mara Flirting with Craig Ferguson [HD]

If the Giants need a new kicker, they might want to try out Kate Maras ex.

The Hollywood starlet, appearing on Tuesday nights episode of Conan, related the time her former boyfriend fumbled the Lombardi Trophy at her family home the Maras own the Giants and put a boots worth of damage into the heralded hardware.

I was dating someone a long time ago who came to visit my parents not too long after the Giants won the Super Bowl, and a trophy had just arrived, Mara said. My parents, my mom specifically, was very excited about this. And she said, Would you like to see it? Would you like to hold it? Theyve sent white gloves that you put on before you can hold the trophy.

He was a very enthusiastic man and he put on the gloves and then he went to lift up the trophy, but he lifted it up from the base, which we didnt know wasnt connected to the trophy, and it fell. He was wearing these steel-toed boots, he was a pretty good soccer player and he kicked his foot up and caught the trophy with his boot and then caught it in his hands.

And he dented, just a tiny part.

Kate MaraPhoto: Getty Images

So who is the lucky lover turned accidental kicker? There are two viable suspects, though we know it came soon after a Giants championship and the suitor was English: Mara was linked to Daredevil star Charlie c*x in 2008, soon after Big Blues first title of recent vintage, and was dating actor Max Minghella when they triumphed again after the 2011 season.

The House of Cards ingenue is currently dating English actor Jamie Bell cant say she doesnt have a type of Billy Elliot and Fantastic Four fame.

Mara actually is football royalty two times over: Her mother comes from the Rooney family that owns the Steelers (hence sister Rooney Maras stage name). The two blue-blood franchises square off this Sunday in Pittsburgh, a once-every-four-years occurrence.

The good news is we always win, Mara said. Someones always happy.

Source: http://nypost.com/2016/11/29/kate-maras-boyfriend-dented-the-giants-super-bowl-trophy/

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Ripley"s animals are safe, aquarium closed Tuesday

Terrifying video of Tennessee Wildfire Evacuation of Gatlinburg

There are 11,000 animals in the aquarium. Video from noon on Nov. 29, 2016.

WBIR 2:49 PM. EST November 29, 2016

Fire engulfs the mountainside behind the Ripley"s Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg. From Ryan DeSears, GM of Ripley"s Aquarium of the Smokies (Photo: Custom)

GATLINBURG - Update at 1:35 p.m. Tuesday:Tennessee Ripley"s Aquarium of theSmokiesis intact, and officials say "first and foremost" they want to thank the first responders for "risking their lives to save our community."

"We would also like to thank our dedicated Aquarium team that stayed as late as possible before being forced to evacuate when fires approached the back of our building," Ryan DeSear, the operation"s regional manager, said. "We are grateful to have had the police escort our emergency team back into the Aquarium early this morning to check on the well-being of our animals. We have a team of Marine Biologists and Life Support Experts inside the Aquarium and are happy to report that the animals are safe."

Update at noon Tuesday: Tennessee Ripley"s Aquarium of the Smokies is intact, according to Gatlinburg officials.

Ripley"s posted to Facebook at 11:53 a.m. Tuesday that all animals at the aquarium are safe. All attractions at the aquarium will remain closed until the evacuation has lifted.

A team of marine biologists and life support experts are tending to the animals as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Ripley"s.

Here"s a list ofwhich structures are destroyed and which are intact.

Update at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday: Tennessee Ripley Attractions General Manager Ryan DeSearsaid he wasn"t sure if flames reached Ripley"s Aquarium of the Smokies.

DeSear said the aquarium"slive web camera was still active, and the building was still standing.

"As long as we have fuel in our generators, that aquarium can run on its own," DeSear said.

DeSearsaid a "raging fire" was about 50 yards away from the aquarium when workers were evacuated on Monday night.

Workers at the aquarium were evacuated mostly due to smoke, according to DeSear.

Original Story at 3 a.m. Tuesday: Fire has engulfed at least 30 structures in Gatlinburg late Monday, and one building many people are very concerned about is the Ripley"s Aquarium of the Smokies.

As of midnight Tuesday, Ryan DeSear, General Manager of the aquarium, told 10News that the building was still standing, that all workers were evacuated, but he is very concerned about the 10,518 animals left behind.

He was one of the last people out of the building at 7:45 p.m. Monday, and said he had to force many of the workers to leave because they didn"t want to leave the animals without help.

"They were force evacuated," DeSear said. "To them, every animal has a name. You don"t give that up"

Unfortunately, he said, "Nothing is more important than human life. Fish can be replaced. It sucks."

DeSear said as long as the building had power and didn"t catch fire, the animals should be safe. When everything is functioning normally, the animals can survive for 24 hours without human intervention. The clock would start ticking as soon as the power goes out.

Before he left, he did a final check of the animals, and said they were behaving normally. He took that as a good sign because animals have a special sense of danger, and they didn"t appear to be affected.

But DeSear and all of those who care for all of that aquatic and animal life at the aquarium are very anxious to get back to them.

"We need to be one of the first people allowed back in when it"s safe," he said. "I hope the people manning the checkpoint here our plea."

( 2016 WBIR)

Source: http://www.wbir.com/news/local/fire-surrounds-ripleys-aquarium-thousands-of-animals-left-behind/357623054

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Kate Mara wraps up as she goes ice-skating without boyfriend Jamie Bell

Craig Ferguson Kate Mara Flirtatious Pick Up Interview - She knows About Scotsmen

She"s dating Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell.

And Kate Mara clearly also has moves of her own, as she got set to hit an ice-rink in Van Nuys, California, on Friday.

The 33-year-old actress looked focused as she stepped out solo, at the Iceland Skating Centre.

Ready for action! Kate Mara clearly also has moves of her own, as she got set to hit an ice-rink in Van Nuys, California, on Friday

The Martian star showcased her slim legs in tight black work-out leggings.

She looked prepared to keep warm on the ice, carrying a bomber jacket as well as wearing a cozy grey fleece.

The beauty kept a tight hold of her white ice-skates, which had a protective cover over the blades.

Got her skates on! The 33-year-old actress looked focused as she stepped out solo, at the Iceland Skating Centre

The Fantastic Four actressshunned makeup with a pair of dark shades being the only thing she wore on her face.

She covered her blonde bob with a toasty gingerbread-hued beanie.

Just in case her beau needed to get in touch, she had a tight hold of her cellphone.

Wrapped up: She covered her blonde bob with a toasty gingerbread-hued beanie

Kate and Jamie met and fell in love while filming of Fantastic Four, which hit theatres last year. While the movie was a flop, their relationship has flourished.

Jamie was married to actress Evan Rachel Wood but the couple split in May 2014, 19 months after they wed.

The former couple share a two-year-old son.

Couple: Kate and Jamie met and fell in love while filming of Fantastic Four, which hit theatres last year - pictured earlier this week

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3951928/Kate-Mara-wraps-goes-ice-skating-without-boyfriend-Jamie-Bell.html

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